Findings from the Evaluation of the Enhanced Collaborative Model Task Forces to Combat Human Trafficking

By Evelyn F. McCoy, Paige S. Thompson, Jeanette Hussemann, William Adams, Krista White, Roderick Taylor

In 2000, the United States government started taking substantial steps to address human trafficking, most notably with the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA), which provided methods for prosecuting cases, protecting survivors, and preventing trafficking. Since then, Congress has expanded the federal strategy to include partnerships, recognizing the importance of nongovernmental organizations in addressing human trafficking. In 2010, the Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) and the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) launched the Enhanced Collaborative Model (ECM) Task Force to Combat Human Trafficking Program to help communities develop multidisciplinary task forces that employ victim-centered approaches to identify survivors, provide services, and investigate and prosecute all forms of human trafficking. This study, the Evaluation of the Enhanced Collaborative Model (ECM) to Combat Human Trafficking, funded by the National Institute of Justice, sought to understand federally funded ECM task forces’ impact on identifying and assisting human trafficking survivors and investigating and prosecuting human trafficking, and to analyze differences in various task force implementation models (e.g., structure, organization, and other key characteristics) to understand which task force models and features contribute most to specific outcomes. In addition, this study sought to gain insight into the investigative, prosecutorial, and victim service practices among ECM task forces, challenges and barriers ECM task forces face in addressing human trafficking, and best practices and recommendations for successfully developing and implementing ECM task forces across the United States. First, we state the problem that illustrates the need for a deeper understanding of how places are addressing human trafficking. Second, we present our methodology and background information on the participating ECM task forces. Third, we review the study’s major findings. Lastly, we review limitations and overall conclusions

Washington, DC: Urban Institute, 2022. 57p.